


Things Overheard

by meemzter



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Established Relationship, Liv eavesdropping, M/M, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 05:58:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6741445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meemzter/pseuds/meemzter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not spying, not really, if Liv just happens to be listening, and Robert and Aaron just happen to not know she's around. </p>
<p>or</p>
<p>5 times Liv spies on Robron.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a series of drabbles. 
> 
> I haven't written fanfic in years and I've never posted on this website, so please forgive me if I've tagged things incorrectly. 
> 
> For the purposes of this fic it's probably best to assume that Liv has super hearing. 
> 
> **Some vague references to Gordon/the trial/the abuse.**
> 
> [tumblr: dingleautomotives]

Liv listens to Aaron and Robert, eavesdropping, sitting at the top of the stairs. She’s not sure why she stays once she hears them wander into the backroom, instead of trotting down to say hello. Curiosity. Boredom. Laziness. But she stays, silent, piddling around on her phone, texting Gabby absent-mindedly about vague weekend plans.

Aaron was having one of his bad days. 

She’d picked up on it that morning at breakfast. An extra edginess to him. More surly. More fragile.

He tried to hide it from Liv, she knew, but she wasn’t a complete idiot. Aaron was kindness and smiles and light-hearted digs, but he was also dark moods and hidden tears and lingering sadness. Seeing Aaron like that… Well it bothered her. Made her feel useless. And that’s how she feels now, as she hears Aaron’s bitter voice travel up the stairs.

“Couldn’t leave it, could they? Couldn’t shut up about me and my business for 5 flaming minutes.” His voice is cracking the way it does, too often, when he’s on the verge of tears.  
“Come on, Aaron, they didn’t mean anything by it.”  
“Nobody ever does, do they? Just sticking their nose in where it’s not wanted. Never mind that I’m trying to move on, and the entire flaming village seems determined not to let me.”  
“Aaron—“  
“Who do they think they are, anyway, dishing out advice like I give a toss what anyone thinks?”  
“Aaron—“

It’d been a month since Gordon got sent down for the unspeakable things he’d done to Aaron. A month of Aaron having good days and bad, ups and downs. Liv doesn’t ask questions about Gordon anymore. Not to Aaron. Not to anyone. She’d learned very quickly that when it came to her brother, that was a topic to be avoided. She was surprised the nosy gossips in the village hadn’t managed to work that out yet. 

Aaron and Robert have descended into silence, but Liv thinks she can make out the faint sniffles of Aaron crying. She doesn’t want to listen to this anymore, doesn’t want to feel useless and angry and sad, but knows she can’t afford to move without giving herself away. 

“Y’alright?” she hears. Robert’s voice. In that sweet, saccharine voice he reserves only for Aaron. She’d roll her eyes normally, but now, she can’t help but be glad he’s there, being so un-Robert-like. Being delicate and gentle and soft.

“Yeah.” Aaron replies, his voice watery. “Sorry. I don’t know why I keep going off on one.”

“Give yourself a break,” Robert replies. “No one’s expecting you to just get over it.”

“Yeah, but, you didn’t exactly sign up for this, did ya? God, I’m a mess.”

“I signed up for all of it.” Robert replied, tenderly. “Well,” he hesitated, cheek in his voice, “maybe not Liv.”

Aaron snorts.

Oi!” Liv calls, unable to help herself, “I hear you two talking about me!” She leaves her hiding spot at the top of the stairs to join them at last. Even if it does mean feeling useless. Even if it does mean willingly spending time with Robert. 

Aaron has good days and bad days, and she’s determined to help make the rest of this one good.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to Robert's... homicidal tendencies.

The car ride home had been silent ever since Robert’s comment about Gabby’s stepdad. Robert’s ex-father-in-law. Whatever. 

Liv hadn’t even been listening, Robert tended to ramble on, but suddenly the conversation had turned tense, and Aaron was doing that fuming thing where he looked like he might explode. 

Liv was delighted. 

If there was one thing Liv enjoyed more than Robert not being around, it was Robert being around and on the receiving end of Aaron’s wrath. After all, he usually deserved it. Liv couldn’t work out why Aaron bothered with him. 

Now, as they pulled up to the pub, Robert turned his sulky face on her. “Liv, could you give us a minute, please?”

“Yeah, right.” She scoffed. As if she would miss this. 

“Liv, just go, will ya?” Aaron snapped.

“Alright, alright,” Liv groaned, “I’ll let you have your little domestic in peace.” 

She climbed out of the car and went inside the back room, plopping down on the couch, flicking the TV on. She texted Gabby, but got no reply—Gabby was busy having a father-daughter bonding night, so she poked around for Charity or Chas, but no one was home. Eventually, she got lost in some dull comedy, before realizing Robert and Aaron had been out there, having their row, for nearly an hour. Maybe Aaron had finally binned him. Seemed weird though, over a stray comment about Lawrence White and his heart attack. 

The comedy was boring, Noah wasn’t around, and Liv’s curiosity got the better of her. It wasn’t really spying, she thought, if she just wanted some fresh air, and happened to sneak around the outside of the building to the corner where Aaron and Robert wouldn’t see her. And it wasn’t really her fault, she thought, if they were arguing loudly enough for her to maybe overhear. 

She crept carefully to her hiding spot, and sure enough, they were still at. Guess he hasn’t binned him yet, Liv thought sourly.

“You know I nearly killed someone once, Rob.” Aaron’s voice.

Nearly? Liv knew about Jackson. She’d heard it off Gabby. But Jackson wasn’t a nearly. Jackson was dead. Full stop. 

“My mum’s boyfriend, Carl.”

Liv’s stomach turned. She should probably not be listening to this. 

“Carl King.” Robert responded, recognition in his voice. 

“I hated him. He treated my mum like dirt, he treated Paddy like dirt, and I wanted to teach him a lesson, take him down a few pegs.” 

A brief pause. “What did you do?”

“Messed with his brakes.” Aaron sounded distant. “I had the nerve to go bragging about it to Adam—he talked some sense into me before anyone got hurt.” 

“You were just a kid, Aaron. You pulled a prank. Hardly counts as attempted murder.”

“Yeah, I was a kid. And a stupid one at that. But I knew, deep down, what could happen. I knew. And for those 5 minutes, I didn’t care.” 

Aaron sighed. “I’m trying to tell you that I know what it’s like to walk right up to that edge, to want to hurt someone so bad that for a second, you don’t care what happens. If Adam hadn’t been there…” He trailed off. “Well who knows.” 

“So… you understand why I did it.” 

“No, Robert, I’m saying I can maybe understand how you did it, but that doesn’t make it right! He could have died! Is this some sort of sick hobby for you? First Katie, then Paddy, now Lawrence?”

“It wasn’t like that!” 

“Then what was it like, Robert? Because I may have walked up to that edge when I was a messed-up, angry teenager, but you seem to be standing there every time I turn around! You can’t just treat people like pawns in whatever sick power games you’ve got going on. You’re not God!” 

More silence. Liv was frozen with the weight of what she’d just heard. She wished she’d stayed inside. After everything that’d happened before the trial, she should have learned to mind her own business. 

Katie… Liv reflected on the name. Katie was the girl who’d died last year. She’d heard Chas mention her a few times. They’d been mates. Liv’d known Robert was dodgy, but this… 

And Aaron knew. 

“Is that really what you think of me?” Robert sounded tentative. Hurt, even. “After all this time? I’m still just some psycho killer?”

Aaron let out a sigh. “I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t be with you if you were.”

“So you’re not finishing with me, then.”

“I should. I really should.” 

“Robert…” Aaron continued, quieter, so that Liv could barely hear, “it scares me ya know. What you’re capable of. It’s not normal, Rob. You were gonna let him die.”

“I just… I lost it.” Robert pleaded. “It was a stupid mistake.”

Aaron snorted in response. “You should get that tattooed on your forehead, that.” 

“He’s fine now, isn’t he? No harm done.” 

Aaron scoffed. “Unbelievable.”

“It won’t happen again.” Robert sounded solemn. “I’m in a better place now, aren’t I? I’ve got you lookin’ over my shoulder.”

“Yeah, great. So I’m the only thing standing between Robert Sugden and mass manslaughter.”

“It won’t happen again.” Robert repeated. “I lost it with Lawrence, but I promise, it won’t happen again.” 

Liv didn’t want to listen anymore, overwhelmed by everything she’d heard. She retreated back into the pub, up the stairs, and into her bed, feeling like she knew her brother and his complicated life better than she’d ever wanted to, and wishing she could forget.


End file.
